A true face of MQM
https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/bitstream/1828/914/1/Thesis.pdf
From Mohallah to Mainstream:
The MQMs Transformation from an Ethnic to a Catch-All Party
By
Noman Baig
B.A., University of Central Oklahoma, 2005
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
In the Department of Political Science
Noman Baig, 2008
University of Victoria
All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
or other means, without the permission of the author.
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Supervisory Committee
Dr. Radhika Desai, Professor, Department of Political Science
Supervisor
Dr. Feng Xu, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Departmental Member
Dr. Guoguang Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Departmental Member
Dr. Gregory Blue, Associate Professor, Department of History
External Member
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Abstract
Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Radhika Desai, Professor, Department of Political Science
Supervisor
Dr. Feng Xu, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Departmental Member
Dr. Guoguang Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Departmental Member
Dr. Gregory Blue, Associate Professor, Department of History
External Member
This thesis asks how the Mohajir Quami Mahaz (MQM), transformed itself from
an ethnic to a catch-all party. Existing literature heavily emphasizes the MQMs
militancy, while this thesis explores the journey of the party, formed in 1984 to represent
Urdu-speakers in Pakistan, through each phase of its development down to its
transformation into the Muttahida Qaumi Mahaz (United National Movement) in 1997.
The MQMs process of transformation can be explained theoretically through
Kirchheimers catch-all party theory. My findings note a shift from an ethno-militant
agenda of Mohajir interests to one stressing the need for national unity and
modernization. It is argued that the party shifted from making choices based on ideology
to a strategy-based politics. The MQM, therefore, sought voters outside its traditional
constituent base in an effort to gain national appeal. As an urban-based middle-class
party, it provides an ideal example of how a party adopts to a changing social
environment fractured by military administration, modernity, and political Islam.
Therefore, this thesis is the story of the MQMs journey from mohallah to mainstream
